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Asteroid 2024 YR4 could still hit the moon, JWST observations reveal Fri, 28 Mar 2025 15:21:45 +0000 Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe asteroid 2024 YR4, which earlier this year seemed to be at risk of hitting Earth in 2032. Earth is now safe, but astronomers are cheering on a possible collision with the moon

The anus may have evolved from a hole originally used to release sperm Fri, 28 Mar 2025 13:00:29 +0000 The long-standing question of how animals came to have an anus may have been solved by studies of which genes are active during development in various animals

Could a new kind of carbon budget ensure top emitters pay their dues? Fri, 28 Mar 2025 11:00:43 +0000 Some researchers propose that countries should start to rack up a carbon debt once they exceed their carbon budget, obliging them to do more to draw down carbon dioxide, but the idea is unlikely to form part of international climate agreements

Camera trap spots endangered elephant mother and calf on the move Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 A weatherproof box and motion-trigger camera help photographer Will Burrard-Lucas capture images of rarely seen African elephants

Mike Berners-Lee's solution for the polycrisis may be just too hard Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 A Climate of Truth is a penetrating and enlightening analysis of the many crises we face. But it demands impossible standards of flawed human beings, finds Graham Lawton

Distracted by your phone? Putting it out of reach may not help Fri, 28 Mar 2025 05:00:45 +0000 When researchers asked people to work on a computer with their phones 1.5 metres away, the amount of time they spent on their phone went down – but they just scrolled social media on their laptop instead

Little red dots seen by JWST might be a kind of black hole 'star' Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:00:10 +0000 Red specks in the early universe are puzzling astronomers, but a proposed explanation suggests they are the progenitors of supermassive black holes

Flourishing microalgae could offset emissions as the planet heats up Thu, 27 Mar 2025 15:00:01 +0000 Photosynthesising microbes in soil may increase their activity as temperatures rise, offsetting some of the carbon emissions expected to be released from peatland and permafrost

Quantum computers are on track to solve knotty mathematical problems Thu, 27 Mar 2025 11:30:00 +0000 A quantum algorithm for solving mathematical problems related to knots could give us the first example of a quantum computer tackling a genuinely useful problem that would otherwise be impossible for a classical computer

How toilet waste is being rebranded as a valuable resource Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 From useful nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus to cellulose for construction, there is treasure to be mined in our sewage, says Graham Lawton

We've spotted auroras on Neptune for the first time Thu, 27 Mar 2025 13:40:35 +0000 After nearly 36 years of searching, astronomers have finally confirmed Neptune has auroras, thanks to data from the James Webb Space Telescope

Rats come one step closer to becoming snobby and pretentious Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback is pleased to discover the latest research into the wine-identifying abilities of rats, but feels the rodents still have a long way to go before they are truly obnoxious to be around

What is vibe coding, should you be doing it, and does it matter? Thu, 27 Mar 2025 10:55:41 +0000 The rise of large language models like ChatGPT that can churn out computer code has led to a new term - vibe coding - for people who create software by asking AI to do it for them

In the city, anyone can be a naturalist-explorer Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 By opening their eyes and hearts to the many distinctive – but overlooked – urban habitats, city dwellers can reconnect with nature, says Menno Schilthuizen

A controversial book about human diversity shows how biology unites us Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 From race and IQ to sex and gender, Herman Pontzer's new book Adaptable is an ambitious and enjoyable exploration of how understanding ourselves better can help us bridge divides

Ancient wasp may have used its rear end to trap flies Thu, 27 Mar 2025 01:00:48 +0000 Bizarre parasitic wasps preserved in amber about 99 million years ago had trap-like abdomens that they may have used to immobilise other insects

Pregnancy’s lasting effects on different parts of the body revealed Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:31 +0000 An "unprecedented view" of how the body changes during and after pregnancy has revealed many long-lasting impacts on the liver, kidneys and more

The Ozempic era is only just beginning Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 In the past year, treatments such as Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have become household names. But there are many questions left to answer, not least what the future holds for weight-loss medications and society at large

Why do giraffes have spots? Not for the reason you might think Wed, 26 Mar 2025 17:00:25 +0000 The size and shape of a giraffe’s spots seem to influence how well the animals survive when temperatures get hotter or colder than normal

An early hint of cosmic dawn has been seen in a distant galaxy Wed, 26 Mar 2025 16:00:56 +0000 A galaxy inside a bubble may be evidence that the universe was starting to become transparent 330 million years after the big bang

Mathematician wins 2025 Abel prize for tools to solve tricky equations Wed, 26 Mar 2025 11:00:29 +0000 Masaki Kashiwara has won the 2025 Abel prize, seen by some as the Nobel of mathematics, for his contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory

We may have found the edge of quantum theory – what’s beyond it? Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:00:47 +0000 Researchers have identified the border between quantum physics and some as-yet-unknown post-quantum realm by mathematically analysing all possible measurements of simple quantum systems

Wood made transparent using rice and egg whites could replace windows Wed, 26 Mar 2025 09:00:46 +0000 Transparent wood, made by stripping organic polymers and replacing them with a mixture of egg whites and rice extract, could be used as windows and smartphone screens

Sharks aren’t silent after all Tue, 25 Mar 2025 23:01:29 +0000 A species of houndshark called Mustelus lenticulatus makes sharp clicking noises when handled. Until now, sharks as a group were thought to be universally quiet

Fake pills ease PMS symptoms even when you know they're placebos Tue, 25 Mar 2025 22:30:09 +0000 Women with premenstrual syndrome reported big improvements in their symptoms after taking placebo pills, despite knowing they did not contain any active ingredients

Leading AI models fail new test of artificial general intelligence Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:02:40 +0000 A new test of AI capabilities consists of puzzles that humans are able to solve without too much trouble, but which all leading AI models struggle with. To improve and pass the test, AI companies will need to balance problem-solving abilities with cost.

Floating wood could help us refreeze the Arctic seas Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:00:35 +0000 Floating platforms of wood could draw up seawater and help it to freeze, seeding the formation of new sea ice

Foie gras made without force-feeding thanks to molecular mimicry Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:00:22 +0000 Scientists have replicated the luxurious mouthfeel of foie gras using the liver and fat of ducks reared and slaughtered normally, avoiding the controversial techniques involved in traditional production

Ex-UK cyber chief says asking Apple to break encryption was 'naive' Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:55:36 +0000 Ciaran Martin, the former head of cyber security at GCHQ, says the UK government was "naive" to expect a request for Apple to weaken its encryption services to remain secret. He thinks governments must come to terms with the fact that uncrackable encryption is here to stay.

Smartphones may be beneficial to children – if they avoid social media Tue, 25 Mar 2025 10:00:51 +0000 In the ongoing debate over the benefits and harms of smartphone use in children, initial data from a US survey suggests the devices can actually improve well-being and social connections, but social media use may be more harmful

Even moderate CO2 emissions could lead to 7°C of warming by 2200 Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:32:46 +0000 There's a small chance of very high warming even with moderate future emissions, according to a computer model exploring what could happen in the next thousand years

How a surprising twist on rewilding could help settle our carbon debt Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 We’ve pumped huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that needs to be paid back. Large animals like wolves, bison and whales may already be tackling the problem

Water can turn into a superacid that makes diamonds Mon, 24 Mar 2025 11:00:46 +0000 Simulations suggest that water can become a superacid under extremely high heat and pressure conditions. This may also explain how planets like Uranus and Neptune get diamond rain

Greenland has gained over 1600 km of new coastline as glaciers retreat Mon, 24 Mar 2025 10:01:42 +0000 Melting ice is revealing new coastal zones in the Arctic, but while this new landscape might fuel speculation about natural resources, it is vulnerable to rockfalls and landslides that can cause dangerous tsunamis

Bizarre fossil may have been an entirely new type of life Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:00:26 +0000 Chemical analysis suggests the 400-million-year-old fossil Prototaxites was neither plant, animal or fungus – hinting at a mysterious life form that went extinct long ago

We’re finally learning how perimenopause profoundly changes the brain Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:00:35 +0000 The hormonal upheaval in the run-up to menopause can cause cognitive difficulties. But researchers are also finding that this can be a critical window for protecting long-term brain health

Why you don't need to worry about 'over-potting' your plants Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Traditional advice tells us to only move growing plants to a pot one size larger. The science shows that you don't need to bother with this slow transition, says James Wong

Is our cosmos just a membrane on the edge of a far stranger reality? Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 String theory may be our best attempt at a theory of everything, except that it can't describe an expanding universe like ours. Now a radical new twist on the idea could finally fix that – but it requires us to completely reimagine reality

Psychology is revealing how to have a better relationship with money Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Money is a deeply emotive subject, our attitudes to it vary wildly and we are reluctant to bring it up in conversation. Could new research help us to be less weird about it?

What the extraordinary medical know-how of wild animals can teach us Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Birds do it, chimps do it, even monarch butterflies do it – and by paying more attention to how animals self-medicate, we can find new treatments for ourselves

New Scientist recommends Weather Girl, an electrifying one-woman show Thu, 20 Mar 2025 08:30:56 +0000 Weather Girl, a play in London's Soho Theatre about a weather forecaster who finally snaps as the climate apocalypse looms, is frantic and funny

Brilliant sci-fi novel shows robots coming to grips with emancipation Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Abigail is created to replace her owner's dead wife, just as robots are set to gain rights. Emily H. Wilson explores Lucy Lapinska's Some Body Like Me, the latest addition to "robo-rights" literature

Relics in Tutankhamun’s tomb hint he invented elaborate burial rites Fri, 21 Mar 2025 09:00:59 +0000 Tutankhamun ruled ancient Egypt shortly after a period of religious instability, and objects from his tomb suggest he took advantage to invent new funerary rituals

Why it would be utter madness to stop funding mRNA vaccine technology Fri, 21 Mar 2025 17:35:29 +0000 It's not a just a revolutionary and safe vaccine technology – mRNA could help make the best and most expensive drugs in the world affordable for everyone

NASA has made the first radio telescope observations on the moon Fri, 21 Mar 2025 14:00:28 +0000 The Odysseus spacecraft made a rough landing on the moon last year, toppling over and rendering much of its equipment unusable, but an onboard NASA radio telescope called ROLSES-1 was able to make some observations

Classrooms decorated like woodlands seem to slow myopia progression Fri, 21 Mar 2025 13:00:16 +0000 Spending a lot of time outdoors may be the best way to prevent myopia, or delay its progression, but this isn't always practical. Now, research suggests that bringing the outside in may be a valid workaround

Why you should slow down your brain’s ageing – and how to do it Fri, 21 Mar 2025 07:00:16 +0000 Many of us have a brain that is older than our years. But there are plenty of things you can do to counteract this, says neuroscience columnist Helen Thomson

German company set for first commercial rocket launch from Europe Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:00:09 +0000 Isar Aerospace is preparing to launch its Spectrum rocket from a base in Norway, which would make it the first orbital launch from continental Europe outside Russia

A radical new idea for how our ancestors invented stone tools Fri, 21 Mar 2025 11:00:38 +0000 Stone tools are considered the first form of technology devised by ancient humans – but they might not have been invented from scratch

AI can forecast the weather in seconds without needing supercomputers Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:00:38 +0000 While earlier weather-forecasting AIs have replaced some tasks done by traditional models, new research uses machine learning to replace the entire process, making it much faster

Ancient clay tablets offer vivid portrait of Mesopotamian life Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 When a vast library of texts amassed by Mesopotamian King Ashurbanipal was burned to the ground about 2700 years ago, the clay tablets were preserved by the heat. Selena Wisnom's new book reveals more

What happened when one woman set out to improve her personality Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 In the enjoyable and science-backed book Me, But Better, Olga Khazan embarks on a year-long experiment to see if she can really become a more agreeable person

Monkeys choose babysitters based on who has more parenting experience Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:00:54 +0000 Young female black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys often want to hold other females’ infants, but mothers are much more permissive of experienced caregivers

Nuclear fusion fuel could be made greener with new chemical process Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:00:53 +0000 Lithium-6 is a crucial material for nuclear fusion reactors, but isolating it is challenging – now researchers have found a way to do this without using toxic mercury

Two-fingered dinosaur used its enormous claws to eat leaves Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:00:41 +0000 A dinosaur fossil discovered in Mongolia boasts the largest ever complete claw, but the herbivorous species only used it to grasp vegetation

Scientists push back against US attacks on science at physics summit Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:00:35 +0000 At the largest gathering of physicists in the world, the American Physical Society says it won’t back down in the face of executive orders to limit diversity programmes

Why particle physicists are going wild for a record-breaking neutrino Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Last month's discovery of the most energetic neutrino yet detected is incredibly exciting for us particle physicists – but it also raises many questions, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Is this new Lego model a nod to the terrifying idea of mirror life? Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback, a Lego fan, delves into a new science-related set, and learns that the model of a DNA double helix is the wrong way around. Time for some jokes about mirror organisms...

An early-warning system for climate 'tipping points' is an awful idea Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Improving our understanding of sudden climate shifts is welcome. But framing this as creating an "early-warning system" is wrong on so many levels it is hard to know where to begin, says Bill McGuire

Tattoos are being linked to some cancers. Are they really a risk? Thu, 20 Mar 2025 07:00:31 +0000 Having a tattoo has been linked to a higher risk of conditions like lymphoma and skin cancer, but the situation isn't clear-cut

This excellent guide to the science of uncertainty is very welcome Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Adam Kucharski's new book Proof is a life raft in a sea of fake news and misinformation

Dark energy isn't what we thought – and that may transform the cosmos Wed, 19 Mar 2025 22:00:41 +0000 Our current best theories of the universe suggest that dark energy is making it expand faster and faster, but new observations from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument suggest this mysterious force is actually growing weaker

Popular TikTok videos about ADHD are full of misinformation Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:44 +0000 The top 100 videos about ADHD on TikTok feature many claims that psychologists consider inaccurate, but students often identify misleading videos as helpful

Microsoft’s quantum computer hit with criticism at key physics meeting Wed, 19 Mar 2025 17:37:15 +0000 After weeks of criticism, Microsoft promised to show new data about its Majorana 1 quantum computer at the biggest meeting of the world's physicists. Researchers in the room tell New Scientist they were not impressed with what they saw.

Budgie brains have a map of vocal sounds just like humans Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:00:32 +0000 Recordings of brain activity in budgerigars reveal sets of brain cells that represent different sounds like keys on a keyboard – a structure never seen before in any bird brain

Quantum satellite sets globe-spanning distance record Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:00:19 +0000 A record-setting test of quantum communication used a microsatellite to connect ground stations in China and South Africa, bringing a global quantum internet closer to reality

Microdosing LSD is not an effective ADHD treatment Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:00:04 +0000 The first randomised controlled trial of microdosing LSD as a treatment for ADHD found the psychedelic drug wasn’t any more effective than a placebo in alleviating symptoms

Euclid space telescope captures 26 million galaxies in first data drop Wed, 19 Mar 2025 11:00:40 +0000 The European Space Agency has released the first batch of large-scale images from the Euclid space telescope, which astronomers have already used to find hundreds of strong gravitational lenses

The world's climate is in uncharted territory, warns major report Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:01:17 +0000 A World Meteorological Organization report details a long list of grim records for everything from CO2 levels and temperature to sea ice loss and sea level rise

Weird meteorite may be relic of lost planet that no longer exists Tue, 18 Mar 2025 18:00:34 +0000 A meteorite discovered in north-west Africa in 2023 didn’t come from a large asteroid or any of the known planets of the solar system – but it might have formed on a planet that was destroyed long ago

Will we soon be able to charge electric cars in minutes? Tue, 18 Mar 2025 17:00:50 +0000 Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range, but will they be widely used?

Surprising skeletons prompt a radical rethink of Egyptian pyramids Tue, 18 Mar 2025 11:00:18 +0000 For years, Egyptologists have assumed pyramid tombs were just for the rich – but the burials at a site called Tombos don’t fit this pattern

Best ever map of early universe is double-edged sword for cosmologists Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:00:20 +0000 The finest ever map of the cosmic microwave background - the faint evidence of the universe's early form - has yielded precise confirmation of the age of the cosmos and its rate of expansion. But for some scientists, the findings offer a frustrating lack of clues to major cosmological mysteries

New evidence microbes played a role in mysterious markings on Mars Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:00:44 +0000 There are a couple potential explanations for distinctive markings found on a Martian rock, but new evidence suggests they are most likely to be related to microbial activity

Dust devils on Mars produce lightning-like zaps of electricity Tue, 18 Mar 2025 13:00:32 +0000 NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded unusual sounds as a Martian dust devil passed directly over the robotic vehicle in 2021, and we now know they came from electrical activity in the storm

Have we vastly underestimated the total number of people on Earth? Tue, 18 Mar 2025 10:00:12 +0000 A new way of estimating rural populations has found that we may be undercounting people who live in these areas, potentially inflating the global population beyond the official count of 8.2 billion – but not everyone agrees

Gravity may arise from quantumness of space Mon, 17 Mar 2025 11:00:21 +0000 Scientists have long sought the particle that carries the force of gravity, but a new theoretical model tosses out that idea entirely – and shows how it could be tested in experiments

Most quakes on Mars happen during the summer – and we don’t know why Mon, 17 Mar 2025 17:00:08 +0000 NASA’s InSight lander recorded surprisingly large quakes that indicate Mars is more seismically active than we first thought. Mysteriously, they only happen during Martian summers

LHC finds intriguing new clues about our universe's antimatter mystery Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:00:43 +0000 Analysing the aftermath of particle collisions has revealed two new instances of “CP violation”, a process that explains why our universe contains more matter than antimatter

Rolling boulders on Titan could threaten NASA's Dragonfly mission Mon, 17 Mar 2025 14:00:31 +0000 The wind on Saturn's largest moon is strong enough to blow around rocks of up to half a metre in diameter, which could put NASA's upcoming Dragonfly mission at risk

How a start-up plans to mine the moon for a rare form of helium Mon, 17 Mar 2025 12:00:26 +0000 A private moon mission planned for 2027 will be the first step towards commercial lunar mining of rare and expensive helium-3

Giant Milky Way-like galaxy formed unusually soon after the big bang Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:00:36 +0000 The Big Wheel, discovered using the James Webb Space Telescope, formed just 2 billion years after the big bang - surprisingly early for a spiral galaxy of a similar size to our Milky Way

Mathematicians solve 125-year-old problem to unite key laws of physics Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:00:23 +0000 Can one single mathematical framework describe the motion of a fluid and the individual particles within it? This question, first asked in 1900, now has a solution that could help us understand the complex behaviour of the atmosphere and oceans.

What makes a good day a good day, according to science Mon, 17 Mar 2025 09:00:44 +0000 Surveys that ask thousands of people how they spend their time have revealed some surprising activities that seem to make any given day a good one

How breaking the rules of tic-tac-toe makes it way more fun Wed, 12 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Noughts and crosses, or tic-tac-toe, is a simple game – but twist the rules and you can really spice it up, says Peter Rowlett

A fresh understanding of tiredness reveals how to get your energy back Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Radical new insights from the science of interoception – how the body senses its internal state – explain the real reasons we feel tired all the time, and how to re-energise

The epic scientific quest to reveal what makes folktales so compelling Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Linguists, psychologists and experts in cultural evolution are discovering why we tell stories, how ancient the oldest ones are and why some tales run and run

The physicist on a mission to spark a quantum industrial revolution Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Quantum fridges, batteries and clocks are brilliant inventions but still limited in power. Now physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern is charting a path to take them to the next level

Terrific drama shows the battle for girls' education in Afghanistan Wed, 12 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The odds are stacked against an all-female robotics team in Rule Breakers, a fantastic film about teaching girls in Afghanistan

The surprising new idea behind what sparked life on Earth Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:00:49 +0000 We may be starting to get a grasp on what kick-started life on Earth – and it could help us search for it on other planets

We may have discovered how dark oxygen is being made in the deep sea Fri, 14 Mar 2025 17:00:02 +0000 A newly discovered mechanism could explain the shock finding last year that oxygen is produced by metallic nodules on the seafloor – and it might be happening on other planets, too

Starlink satellite part hit a Canadian farm when it fell from orbit Fri, 14 Mar 2025 15:07:24 +0000 A failed launch left a batch of Starlink satellites in the wrong orbit last year, and it appears that a fragment of one fell to Earth and hit a farm in Canada. Thankfully, no one was injured

Should governments really be using AI to remake the state? Fri, 14 Mar 2025 13:15:31 +0000 New Scientist's revelation that a UK minister is asking ChatGPT for advice raises the question of what role these new AI tools should play in government – and whether we should really think of them as intelligent

Memory illusion makes you think events occurred earlier than they did Fri, 14 Mar 2025 13:00:32 +0000 It can be difficult to recall exactly when a specific event happened, and now it seems our memory can be tricked into pushing occurrences back in time, making us think they happened earlier than in reality

Revealed: How the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:04:17 +0000 New Scientist has used freedom of information laws to obtain the ChatGPT records of Peter Kyle, the UK's technology secretary, in what is believed to be a world-first use of such legislation

AI scientists are sceptical that modern models will lead to AGI Fri, 14 Mar 2025 11:00:31 +0000 In a survey of AI researchers, most say current AI models are unlikely to lead to artificial general intelligence with human-level capabilities, even as companies invest billions of dollars in this goal

How cloud-seeding could help us predict when it will snow Fri, 14 Mar 2025 10:00:11 +0000 These brilliant images show how researchers in Switzerland are using weather-modification techniques to understand how ice crystals form in clouds, an important and poorly understood factor in climate and weather models

More than half of life on Earth experiencing unprecedented conditions Fri, 14 Mar 2025 10:00:08 +0000 An analysis of changes to global ecosystems has revealed that almost nowhere is untouched by the influence of humanity, with more than 50 per cent of the planet's land mass experiencing "novel" conditions

Why the long history of calculating pi will never be completed Fri, 14 Mar 2025 09:00:26 +0000 Building the full value of pi has been a project thousands of years in the making, but just how much of this infinite number do we actually need, asks our maths columnist Jacob Aron

Hypnotic art has its roots in the terrifying reality of nuclear bombs Wed, 12 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000 In his Atomic series, artist James Stanford showcases "the spectacle and the horror" of growing up near a nuclear bomb testing site